Fox News chief political analyst Brit Hume skewered the wild moon landing conspiracies that have been spread all over the internet — thanks mostly to social media — over the course of the last several years, stating that he never once doubted that American astronauts successfully reached the moon. The reason Hume tackled the topic is due to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launching the first crewed mission to the moon in over 53 years on April 1.
Four astronauts boarded the Orion spacecraft for a 10-day lunar flyby test flight as part of the Artemis II program. With so many outrageous claims being made by skeptics about the first moon landing, Hume took some time on the “Special Report” program to explain that he never doubted the authenticity of previous lunar missions, heaping praise on astronauts for being an exceptional group of people.
“I didn’t have any trouble believing that. Of course, I never doubted for a moment that these moon visits that we made were real,” Hume said during a conversation with host Bret Baier. “And I think these astronauts, they’re a special breed. There’s no doubt about it. They’re people of tremendous ability and courage, and they love their country, and they operate and live with enormous optimism. They do these things because they believe they need to be done and that they can be done.”
According to a report from the Daily Caller, many conspiracy theorists have questioned the reality of NASA’s moon landing and the subsequent photographs and video footage, by pointing out small details like a lack of stars in the background, as proof the whole event was nothing more than a stage production in a studio. One of the more wild theories is that legendary filmmaker Stanley Kubrick directed the mission and filmed it in Area 51.
All of these theories exist despite NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, which has been making circles around the moon since 2009, snapping pictures of the Apollo landing sites with enough detail to show the descent tracks of the lunar modules, footprints left in the soil by astronauts, and even a lunar rover. Add to that the fact astronauts left retroreflectors on the moon’s surface that scientists around the globe are still using today in order to make precise measurements of the distance between Earth and the Moon.
However, if the comment section on social media concerning Hume’s comments in favor of the authenticity of the moon landing are any indication, people are still just as skeptical as ever. One individual on Facebook wrote, “You mean the one mounted on the decent stage aimed at the ladder?” referring to some of the footage of the landing. Another referred to the 1969 event as being fake and the result of the US trying to get ahead of Russia, thus they used an elaborate ruse.
“Look up the race between the USA and Russia. Which country was ahead the entire time? Which country had more successful launches? Which country had spent more time orbiting and in space? Which country had sent probes to the moon first? Then once you answer these questions ask yourself why did Russia not go to the moon back then? Answer it was not possible at that time,” the user said.
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Another commented, “Oh well if Britt Hume is clearing it up that must be the final word. I have been waiting years for him to finally weigh-in. Such a relief.” Someone else said, While I can’t say definitively the moon landing itself was fake…after watching just four different footage explanations I can 100% say that the videos depicting it were definitely manufactured!!
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